'''Sir Herbert Varney''' ([[1850s|1858]]–[[1880s|1889]]) was a [[vampire]] who preyed upon [[London]] women in the [[1880s]]. He was eventually caught and killed by a specially-assigned group of [[wizards]] from the [[Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures]].

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'''Sir Herbert Varney''' ([[1850s|1858]]–[[1880s|1889]]) was a [[vampire]] who preyed upon [[London]] women in the [[1880s]]. He was eventually caught and killed by a specially-assigned group of [[wizards]] from the [[Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures]]. He appears on a [[Famous Wizard Card]].

Behind the scenes

Herbert Varney may have been loosely based on Jack the Ripper, who in 1888 brutally murdered at least five women in London, but was never caught.[1]

Although Varney is the name of places and companies,[2], and the surname of certain celebrities[3], this character probably references Varney the Vampire or the Feast of Blood, a Gothic horror story written by James Malcolm Rymer in the 19th century, and one of the first vampire novels ever written (predating and influencing Bram Stoker's more popular Dracula).[4]

Marvel Comics first adapted this character with the name of Varnae, a former wizard from Atlantis who became the first lord of the vampires and plagued the likes of Conan the Barbarian[5] and Doctor Strange[6]; later, Marvel Comics adapted Varney to their own continuity as a separate character.[7]